Touchpoint installs giant iPhone-like displays to help Indonesian mall customers

Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta is famous for its malls. There are loads of malls here, and more are yet to come. In that regard, Indonesian venture firm Systec Group recently installed five giant iPhone-like machines called “Touchpoint” (pictured right) in Plaza Indonesia mall. The machines are built “to help customers discover what’s exciting around them in the malls.”

Touchpoint has four main functions: a search engine for mall customers, step-by-step directions, deals/promotions and event discovery, as well as an integrated customer loyalty platform. Here are more detailed explanations for each function:

1. Google for malls

The search engine can help customers search for anything in the mall using merchant names or specific keywords. So if you want to look for “yoga class,” Touchpoint can refer you to related merchants inside the mall. Users can already search for merchant names, category, and type of product or service.

It’s a bit weird seeing no space bar in the machine’s virtual keyboard (pictured right). When I typed “ice” I get a few recommendations related to “ice cream”. But when I type in “Icecream” I get no result. Systec Group’s CEO Nicko Widjaja says that the software is designed to be “minimalistic and effective”, so there is no need for a spacebar. He adds:

That’s why we called the feature “Smart Result” on the bottom, as it should get smarter everyday. The purpose of the search is to complete the result before we finish typing the entire word.

2. Detailed directions feature

The step-by-step directions feature is definitely a step up from the current directory displays used in many malls, where users need to look at a map and memorize directions.

With Touchpoint, users can type in the merchant’s name. The machine will explain how the user can go there from their current location. Even better, users can print out the detailed directions. The printed directions are quite specific, as it guides users using landmarks, too. Users will be told to go left “after you see Dunkin Donuts on your right.”

3. Promotions and events discovery

This feature looks similar to what discount startup Uluyu did with its machines last year: users can look for discounts and deals from Touchpoint’s partner merchants. The Touchpoint machines at Plaza Indonesia were installed on the condition they showcase deals from Permata Bank, the mall’s bank partner for this year. Over 100 Permata Bank deals are displayed, along with about 15 non Permata Bank deals.

4. Customer loyalty machine

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